Write on

Before anyone had any inkling that the revered British Museum Reading Room would move to a new building between Euston and King's Cross stations, I was lucky enough to do some 'research' in the presence of illustrious people, present and past, because my generous undergraduate dissertation supervisor offered me a topic that required consulting the Francis Place papers. He probably hoped that age 22 would not be the peak of my career as a historical researcher but I went on to less lofty things and whenever I go into what is now the hugely photographed Great Court, I feel immensely lucky to have worked in that library before it moved.

After too much coffee over overdue catch-ups (thanks, Chamaeleo and thanks Anthony, who unexpectedly took me to the other side of this window), I spent the evening with a much better historical researcher - at the launch of a friend's new book about Labour Party women cabinet ministers. 

It was an opportunity to talk with people who have spent their lives deeply immersed in political activity, inside and outside parliament. From different perspectives, party and wider, there was agreement that the reason the current political landscape looks unstable is not because we've been around for a long time but something much more troubling. 

Labour's number of women cabinet ministers can't be their most pressing concern just at the moment.